Real Estate & Community Development Course Descriptions

Curriculum Overview for Real Estate and Community Development Program

Real Estate and Community Development

RECD 300 Real Estate Roles and the Public Sector (3)Prerequisite: MATH 120. This course introduces students to the variety of roles in real estate transactions including appraisers, city officials, contractors, inventors, developers, etc. Fair and affordable housing are also discussed.

RECD 400 Real Estate Law (3)Prerequisite: MATH 120. This course includes the study of the legal principles governing real estate transactions with an emphasis on promulgated contracts. Topics addressed in the class are as follows: contract law, estates in land, types of ownership, deeds, mortgages, title insurance agency and homestead.

RECD 415 Real Estate Finance (3)Prerequisite: MATH 120 required, PST 310 recommended. This course is designed to provide an understanding of the fundamentals of real estate financing and development that inform housing and economic development policy decisions. Topics covered include the legal and financial structure of real estate transaction, the nature of public versus the private role in real estate transaction, the various methods for financing a real estate transaction, and the decision analysis involved in identifying prospective site and projects.

RECD 420 Real Estate Appraisal, Market Research and Feasibility (3)This course will provide an in depth description of the consulting fields of real estate appraisal, real estate market research and real estate feasibility analysis. Upon completion, the student should be a good consumer of these services.

RECD 435/PPS 535 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) (3) This course is designed to introduce students to Geographic Information Systems (GIS), which examines and displays data in a spatial context. This course will provide an introduction to the fundamentals of GIS, with a special emphasis on integrating, analyzing, and presenting spatial information. An introduction to GIS and ESRI products and applications will be presented. There will be a focus on GIS uses for the social sciences, with examples and application to planning, policy, and real estate.

RECD 439/RECD 539 Intermediate Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Applications to Real Estate (3)Prerequisite: RECD 435 or PPS 535. Advances in technology are rewriting the rules of the game in increasingly rapid cycles. The future success of retail, real estate, and restaurants will be determined to a large degree by the competitive advantages of implementing smart technologies, such as GIS. The intermediate GIS course will expand beyond the basic principles of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and emphasize the tools that will make students competitive and successful in the real estate industry. Students will increase their knowledge of the GIS system through an emphasis on spatial intelligence and project management formulation and management skills. Students will also use the latest software to create and produce qualitative and attractive maps.

RECD 487 Real Estate Capstone (3)Prerequisites: RECD 300, 400, 415, 420 and 435. A seminar course in which students, with the guidance of a faculty mentor, produce a project incorporating the knowledge and skills learned in the real estate courses. The goals are to: apply real estate principles and practices to real-life work settings; integrate knowledge and skills learned in the other real estate courses; and acquire practical experience in the field.

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